Key facts
- Ukraine received approval from the UK and France to produce Storm Shadow/SCALP missiles.
- The UK will share classified technical information with MBDA for missile production.
- The SCALP/Storm Shadow missile has a range of up to 250 kilometers.
- Norway confirmed $9 billion in financial support for Ukraine through 2027.
- Ukraine will receive Crotale air defense systems and additional missiles for Patriot systems.
- The US asked Ukraine to refrain from striking Moscow during a CIA director's visit.
Ukraine has secured approval from the United Kingdom and France to produce long-range Storm Shadow/SCALP missiles within its borders, a significant development announced by President Volodymyr Zelensky on August 25. Zelensky described the decision as a strong positive, noting that French President Emmanuel Macron confirmed restrictions on the missiles and related licenses would be lifted.
The UK government has agreed to allow European defense company MBDA to share classified technical information on the British components of the SCALP missiles with Ukraine, facilitating domestic production. The SCALP, known as Storm Shadow in the UK, is a joint French-UK cruise missile with a range of up to 250 kilometers, designed for precision strikes on fixed targets.
This announcement came during a press conference in Kyiv with Estonian President Alar Karis, who was visiting Ukraine to discuss military support and cooperation. In parallel, Norway has committed $9 billion in financial support for Ukraine outside the EU framework for 2027, potentially financing projects like the Freyja initiative. Ukraine also confirmed receipt of several Crotale air defense systems, VT-1 missiles, AIM missiles, and additional missiles for Patriot systems, though the providers were not specified.
In other developments, a source indicated that the U.S. requested Ukraine refrain from striking Moscow and St. Petersburg during CIA Director John Ratcliffe's visit to Russia, a request Kyiv reportedly agreed to for August 24-26. Meanwhile, former U.S. Special Envoy Keith Kellogg voiced support for mobilizing Ukrainian women into the military, a sentiment quickly countered by Ukraine's Parliament's National Security Committee, which stated no such measures are being considered or prepared, with women currently joining forces voluntarily.
The Kremlin, through spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, dismissed a U.S.-backed proposal for a free economic zone in Ukraine's Donbas region, asserting that the area is Russian territory. This comes after Zelensky mentioned a peace plan including a buffer zone in Donbas. Additionally, a Russian drone strike overnight damaged the Vynohradivka border crossing between Ukraine and Moldova, prompting condemnation from Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha. Ukrainian strikes also reportedly damaged a MiG-29 fighter jet at Russia's Millerovo airbase and a Peresvet-M electronic warfare system in Luhansk Oblast.